Echo Holy: A Forgotten Side of God
- Allison Bryant
- Jun 25
- 4 min read
“Enter the rocky place and hide in the dust From the terror of the Lord and from the splendor of His majesty.” - Isaiah 2:10
When was the last time you sat and thought about how terrifying God is? Yes, you read that correctly: terrifying. God is terrifying. Not the skin-crawling, dark terror of a horror movie; not at all! But the awe-inspiring, respect-demanding, obedience-deserving kind of terror that comes from being entirely and completely holy.
Today's culture that cares very little for respect, and because of this, the modern Church is forgetting the terror of God’s majesty.
We live in the post-Christ era: the age of peace on earth, goodwill toward men. And before you write me off and swipe away from this post, I agree: the angels' statement is true. It does reflect our reality as Christians today. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, there is no condemnation for us as believers now. But have we forgotten that God is still the same terrifying, earth-shattering, uncompromisingly righteous God of the Old Testament, as well as the New? Or have we slipped into the dangerous comfortability of being ‘buddies’ with a God that can create or destroy stars with a single breath?
Modernity has ushered in the practice of free, limitless love; we have believed the lie that 'love' includes unlimited acceptance and tolerance. This is not true. While God’s love for mankind is limitless, His favor, approval, and blessings are not. It is our free will that decides how aligned we are to His will. In fact, it goes farther:
“It is what the Lord spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.’” Leviticus 10:3
What does it mean to treat God as holy and honored?
Imagine being phoned by a sitting President of the United States and offered a personal friendship. He wants you to call him daily, to discuss your life with him. He wants to discuss his world-impacting decisions with you. In fact, he’s written an entire book full of letters directly to you. And one day, he invites you to the White House to meet him face to face. Would you take that friendship seriously? Would you step into his presence with awe and reverence for his position, the power he holds? Or would you show up and casually brush off the honor of calling him a friend?
We are treating God’s friendship casually. Let us not make the mistake of believing we serve a harmless God. No; our God is a dangerous God. In C.S. Lewis's words in the Chronicles of Narnia, ""Is he—quite safe?..." "Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good."
The Malachi 3:6 says, "I, the Lord, do not change."
What does this mean? It means that we still serve the God who is surrounded by the hosts of heaven, their cries echoing through the amphitheater of the Throne Room for all eternity. We get a glimpse at this magnificent, terrifying scene in Isaiah 6:1-4:
In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim were standing above Him, each having six wings: with two each covered his face, and with two each covered his feet, and with two each flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of armies. The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.
In our modern culture, we are prone to exaggeration. We over-emphasize on a regular basis. But the Biblical authors did not use this tactic. When this verse repeats the word 'holy,' it would be our way of writing a word in all-capital letters today. It is not necessarily implying that they cry the word three times, it is a way of emphasizing the utter and complete holiness of God. They cry it so loudly that it shakes the foundations of Heaven.
And then the second part: the whole earth is full of His glory.
At the heart - the very heart - of Majesty Project, this is our goal. In our insufficient and yet obedient way, we are inviting Christians to bring their creativity to the feet of this God and offer Him the honor due His Name (Romans 13:7). Like the woman with the expensive perfume in Mark 14, we are bringing what we can offer, as inadequate as it may be. And as Jesus was blessed then, we believe He is still blessed by our humble efforts today.
So how would our lives change if we spent time every day remembering this very real, majestic side of God? If you haven't already, I highly encourage you to listen to the song attached at the beginning of the blog post, and really listen to the words. It is one of my favorite songs of all time, and it truly reflects the heart of Majesty Project. And I recently read John Bevere's book, The Awe Of God, in which he reflects on the lost fear of God in our society. If you have never read it, I highly suggest it as a much deeper dive into this topic of holy fear.
If you feel a nudge to partner with us through donating funding, time, creativity, or a location for an art piece, please reach out. We are looking for those who want to partner with us as we magnify the Lord together.
O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. Psalm 34:3
Comments